Last week, Southeastern (2-16, 1-10 SLC) women’s basketball fell to McNeese 72-30 (16-4, 10-1 SLC) in a homecoming game for McNeese Head Coach Alya Guzzardo and several former SLU players.
The Lady Lions this year, led by former UIW head coach Jeff Dow, try to find some light in the season as they remain at the bottom of the conference with 9 consecutive losses to conference opponents.
Before the game, McNeese fan support outnumbered Southeastern’s in the University Center, making it harder for the Lady Lions to focus.
MSU maintained a steady lead over SLU throughout the game, outscoring them by almost double the points in each quarter.
Even though they were behind, Coach Dow continued to motivate his players and encouraged them to keep their heads held high.
After the game, the former Southeastern Head Coach and Hammond native, Coach Guzzardo, received appreciation upon arriving in Hammond and spoke about it always being the place she will call home.
“We like to call this a homecoming game for us with no bad blood and being back here tonight was bittersweet. At the end of the day, I’m happy where I’m at, but I’m thankful for where I came from,” Head Coach Alya Guzzardo said.
Once the Cowgirls came out to warm up before the game, Guzzardo and former Southeastern players were applauded by all fans in the arena; even from another team, they were cherished and acknowledged.
Senior two-time Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Jalencia Pierre, one of the major transfers recruited by Guzzardo at Southeastern, spoke about how it felt to be in the U.C. once again.
“Coming back to practice here while seeing those banners that we won, made us reminisce about playing here and made us slightly emotional being back visiting my family, coming out tonight was nice,” Pierre said.
Coach Guzzardo stayed after hours to reunite with her family and friends from the area where she grew up.
“I’m just thankful for all the people we get to see here from day one, how they supported us tonight, a mix of green gold and blue is all fun because we love this game,” Coach Guzzardo said.
Southeastern grew toward snapping the losing streak in their next game versus Nicholls (10-8, 6-5 SLC) on Saturday, but dropped the lead in the final minutes, falling 69-66.
The Lady Lions fought hard, trying to finish ahead with a three-pointer from the freshman guard Lihi Azouri late in the fourth with 10 seconds left on the clock.
However, they were still behind by one point, so freshman guard Mia Ramos tried to take charge and quickly fouled for them to get the ball back.
Nicholls made three points after two free throws, prompting Ramos to try for another three-pointer to tie the game, but she ran out of time.
During the game, two players from SLU scored in double digits, including junior guard Alyah Collens, who made three shots from beyond the arc to score 16 points and recorded three aggressive steals on defense.
Beside her was Azouri, a serious deep threat with two shots behind the line and never missed a free throw to conclude the game with 14 points.
Despite their record, the Lady Lions will face the Lamar Lady Cardinals during Faculty/Staff Night at the University Center tonight at 6 p.m., before they play against Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m., in Nacogdoches, TX.
Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+ or listen to it free on KSLU 90.9 The Lion.
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